Tag Archive - movies

An Abnormal Children’s Pastor

May 9, 2008 in Ministry, Personal with 11 Comments

I am a Children’s Pastor.

For those of you NOT in the know; that means I work at a church and my primary responsibility is for those members of the church having just been born up until they finish the 5th grade. There are many different areas, departments, and budgets within this broad scope of Birth through 5th Grade, but basically I work with the kids. Like most Children’s Pastors at a church my size, I don’t spend as much time ‘teaching’ kids as I do planning for what others will teach them. I basically manage the department that facilitates spiritual growth in the lives of the kids at the church.

Maybe you read this and you think that you have me pegged as a CP (Children’s Pastor). Let me clear up a few things, to help you understand me more. Here are some truths about me, that often cause me to not fit in so much with the other CP’s I meet.

  • I’m a man. Can’t change that, and it has even kept me from getting a job before. Reverse Discrimination?
  • I hate puppets. Seriously, I hate them. Everywhere I’ve ever worked, the first thing I’ve done is thrown out the puppets. Who uses puppets anymore? There not on TV, they don’t make Muppet movies anymore (or at least they shouldn’t), and I can’t justify doing things in front of kids that are so 1980′s.
  • I hate kid’s music. I really can’t understand why anyone would want to listen to kids sing worship songs on a CD recording. I get the value of music like THIS for background stuff, but why is kids’ music so weird? It’s just terrible. I do however, like to play music that is kid-friendly, and trust me… there is a difference.
  • I have never, nor will I ever, dress up like a clown. I wear normal clothes for someone in their early 30′s (at least I think they might be normal.) I do not wear green socks with red pants, and a cartoonish veggie tales tie to church on Sunday Morning.
  • I don’t like ‘Christian’ movies for kids. I think 90% of the ‘Christian’ movies and tv shows for kids are garbage. What I mean is that they are poorly created, poorly thought out, and rarely make any kind of spiritual impact. I’d rather my kids watch Clifford the Big Red Dog than most of the ‘Christian’ DVD’s I see around.
  • I hate making announcements from the stage on a Sunday morning for Children’s workers. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it! It’s like telling people to jump on our sinking ship, and it confirms the fears most people have that we’re desperate for help; which isn’t the case. Not to mention that it never works. I also hate for my Senior Pastor to make pleas for workers; it’s even worse than making the announcement myself.
  • I think that what I do in the church is equally as important as every other ministry that falls under the umbrella of our church. Not more important, not less important. Aren’t we really all doing the same thing, but on different levels?
  • I really consider myself someone who works more for families, than someone who works with kids. I love working with kids, but if that is all I do then I would really hate this job. It’s all about getting kids to have an encounter with Jesus that impacts those around them. (That’s you, Mom and Dad!)
  • I’m not a CP because I failed at speaking in front of adults. I really love speaking in front of kids, but not because I’m scared to speak in front of adults. I’m comfortable speaking in front of any age crowd, as long as I have something to say.
  • I’m not patiently awaiting a promotion to Youth Pastor or Senior Pastor. I really like working with kids. They’re more honest, more energetic, less grumpy, and they’re much easier to beat in basketball.
  • I’m not good at crafts. I don’t do coloring sheets in my spare time, and you can’t find craft sticks and glue in my office. I’m just not a crafty guy, so I’ve hired others to do that for me.
  • I don’t act childish. I don’t feel that I have to act like a 10 year old to get the attention of kids, and I think you’re fooling yourself CP’s out there if you do. That doesn’t mean I don’t tell jokes that only 10 years get, or that I act all snooty all the time. I’m just authentic, in a way that kids can understand.
  • I cringe when people call me a pastor. (I know, I know, I am a pastor. I’m educated and trained and ordained…) It took me years to come to this place, but I really can’t figure out what to let the kids call me. I think Mr. Jonathan is a little weird, and I think Pastor Jonathan makes me seem snooty in some way.
  • I read business leadership books. They’re better than most church books out there, and I think leadership is one area that CP’s should spend more time studying up on.
  • I don’t homeschool my kids. Let’s not go there, OK? (Except to say that I think everyone should do what they have convictions to do…)

There, it’s out there. I’ve gotten the burden off my chest, and I can peacefully coexist with those that think I’m a nut. One of the great things about having a blog and reading blogs is meeting other CP’s that are just like me. It wasn’t until I started reading blogs that I realized that I’m not alone. I’m still in the minority, but I’m not isolated!

Rising Food Prices

May 7, 2008 in Links with 2 Comments

Starr shared this story with me last night, and I just had to post it for the world to see. I agree with this woman 100freaking%!

Let them eat (organic) cake, or maybe get takeout

I had to laugh when I read a recent Seattle Times article, “The crunch of rising food prices.” There’s nothing funny about its subject: Americans are paying a lot more for groceries. It was the newspaper’s choice of real-life examples that caused my sardonic chuckle.

One was a woman who spends a total of $700 a month at three different supermarkets to feed her family, which includes two small children. Presumably she’s a stay-at-home mom; her husband is a technical analyst for an engineering firm. The article noted that she’s “disappointed that she can’t afford to buy organic milk and produce as often anymore.”

The other interviewee, a single mother of four, is director of development for a major nonprofit organization. Not only did her kids have to do without skiing and movies this winter, she needed to eliminate takeout food two nights a week. “Long term, who knows? We might have to plan meals based on what’s on sale in the store,” she said.

Welcome to the real world, ladies. And hey, Seattle Times: Do you ever talk to people who don’t look like you?

Brain Vacation

December 30, 2007 in Personal with 0 Comments

What a great week! I have been off work all week and will return Monday morning to the office schedule I usually keep. I basically worked feverishly for a week before Christmas to prepare for an entire week off work and it was a treat. It’s been a fun week with the family; watching movies, eating ham, sleeping in late, eating pie, opening presents, eating Christmas candy, playing with my new Xbox 360, eating out at restaurants, sleeping some more, and many other things that I can’t quickly remember.

However, I feel like I’ve let my brain have too many days off. What have I read? Nothing. What have I challenged myself with this week? Nothing. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my brain back in the swing of things this week.

True or False Movies

November 12, 2007 in Links with 0 Comments

I don’t share many links, but this time I am. Every time I watch a ‘based on actual events’ movie; I wonder how much in the movie is factual, and how much is romanticized. Wikipedia is a great resource, but I stumbled on this today.

Reel Life: 5 Stories Hollywood Fudged in the Movies

I was most disappointed in the true part of “Bridge on the River Kwai.” This is a great movie, but not exactly true. But a great movie nonetheless.

Whoa!! Slow Down Time Machine

October 29, 2007 in Personal with 1 Comment

I’ve discovered the only fool-proof way to make time pass by faster than you ever thought humanly possible. I’m talking the “wake up and 4 years have passed” kind of speed. The type of time bending only seen in grossly over budgeted sci-fi movies. It’s really very easy to make time pass; Have Kids!

Today is Dylan’s 4th birthday, and it has been met by me with disbelief. As I am prone to do on occasion, I sat in his bed watching him sleep last night and could not believe that my second born little boy is already 4 years old. 4 YEARS! Only those with children can truly understand how fast time flies by when you start having kids. I can’t explain it, but I feel like we had his 3rd Birthday party just last month, and his 2nd Birthday party was a few weeks before that. He can’t possibly be 4 years old, can he?

There is a great balancing act happening in our home, where I want time to slow down; but my kids are racing through life on a collision course towards adulthood. As a perfect example; Dylan told me yesterday that he didn’t want to be 4, but wanted to go ahead and be 5 this year. Of course I want him to stay 3 for as long as possible, and cringe at the thought of my baby boy being 4 years old. I know that soon enough time will swallow us all whole, and I’ll look back and think that 4 years isn’t much of a milestone. However on this 29th day of October in the year 2007; I take some solace that I do have 365 days until I have to let him turn 5. Hopefully it will be a slow year.

Happy Birthday Dylan Joel!

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